United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced today, August 30, 2002, that David Allen Sussman, a resident of New Kensington, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh to 41 months of incarceration, 5 years supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $191,478.88 on his convictions for wire fraud, mail fraud and bank fraud.

United States District Judge Gary L. Lancaster imposed the sentence on Sussman, age 39, of 926 Merwin Road, New Kensington, Pennsylvania.

According to the information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen, Sussman telemarketed photo packages to students, youth clubs, and various organizations through companies he owned named Artistic Composite, Inc., initially located at 1401 Grandview Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15211 and then at 211 Shiloh Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15211, and International Photographic Services, located at 413 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1B, Tarentum, Pennsylvania, 15084.

Although the telemarketers represented that these companies were photography studios that would produce photo packages, no photographic packages were delivered to the paying customers. In addition, Sussman committed bank fraud by creating and then passing computer generated checks to pay photographers for their services. In reality, the computer generated checks reflected bank account numbers of accounts that did not exist. Further, Sussman committed bank fraud in South Carolina by using bogus computer generated checks. Lastly, Sussman was sentenced for a fraud committed against persons participating in eBay auctions who were selling or purchasing expensive watches, high quality gem stones and jewelry. Sussman used bogus computer generated checks to pay for the purchases he made during eBay auctions and failed to deliver similar items which he auctioned on eBay.

The eBay fraud was investigated in cooperation with the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice.

Ms. Buchanan commended agents of the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of David Allen Sussman.

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